Comments on: Dubai: 'Like Singapore on steroids'

Life in the UAE nation may take some getting used to for Westerners, but many believe it holds the next big fortune.
Photos: Life in Dubai

[mlwhall]

Jobs in Dubai

I have been wondering about jobs in Dubai for a while (have not done anything about it). Any thoughts on how one would look into this?
----Martin----

[pjianwei]

Singapore with no undercover police

There is no undercover police in Singapore at all. In fact there is a lack of enforcement of certain laws althrough we do have certain ridiculous laws still in place left behind by the British.
However if the comparison is made due to the economic similarities, it has to be said Dubai has definitely move streets ahead of Singapore. In fact Singapore is learning from Dubai.

[i_made_this]

Not News

Dubai has been a metropolitan trading hub offering tax advantages to the manufacturing industries for the past fifteen years. In any event, it's encouraging to see CNET, a leading technology publication, catch up with the reality that's been well discussed in manufacturing and supply chain publications for a decade and a half. For people looking to emigrate and work in the UAE, I wouldn't recommend it unless you already have a job contract or, like the pop star Michael Jackson, are wealthy enough to afford the life style.

[PaulWallen]

Dubai is beautiful .. but

built by the sweat of poor Pakistanis, Indians and bangladesis. I lived there for years and saw the exploitation. They are harldy paid 600-700 dhs (163.35 U.S. dollars) a month and forced to work and live in extreme conditions. There are no proper labor laws to protect the immigrant workers. I was an IT consultant for 4 years , but decided to leave the dubai for good. You need employers permission for everything including credit card, drivers license etc. You are not allowed change your jobs unles you are an exempted category(luckily I was one). Probably westerners see only tall glass buildings and dollar goes a long way. I can consider dubai as a fine place only if they have more human right considerations and labor laws.

[jdoe2247]

Oil Rich Despotism - Gimme a break

In Dubai -
You go to Jail for living with someone not your spouse
You go to Jail for holding hands in public
You go to Jail for honking at other drivers
You go to jail for offending the UNDERCOVER SECRET POLICE
The country is ruled by a KING!!
Wow! What a way to live !!!

[John__Smith]

In the US...

In the US -
You can get shot for living with someone not your spouse (esp. if someone else's spouse!)
You can get shot for honking at other drivers
You can get shot for offending the Police
The country is ruled by a TERRORIST!!
Wow! What a way to live !!!!

[chrisaris]

Doe Stuck in some Medieval Void!!!

Compared to other Gulf States, Dubai is a much more vibrant, and liberal economy. Life is more open and liberal compared to other Gulf States and the Govt. is working towards more liberal measures.

ALSO ...
* I live with someone who is not my spouse
* I hold hands with her in public
* Only a stupid person would honk at other drivers
* Only a stupid person would offend an Undercover Secret Police
* AND by the way even England's ruled by a Queen.

Also this is one of the few places in the world which offers a TAX FREE income AND world class public utility services.

[AbuAnas]

In Dubai

In Duabi..

You can leave your yard and home doors open 24/7 and you won't report a single missing gained-by-oil-money item from your home.

[Andrew Sheppard]

Dubai: 'Like Singapore on steroids' - more like Singapore on Sand

As Fdfd Dfd says "Dubai is beautiful .. but"
Yes, Dubai is built by the sweat of poor Pakistanis, Indians and
Bangladeshis. They are paid very low wages compared to
citizens of oil-rich UAE and Saudi, but many times more than
most people earn back home. So they are not forced, they
choose to live in extreme conditions, because many are
supporting their entire village. There are some labor laws, and
the Shariah, to protect the immigrant workers, but they are low
priority.

Dubai has changed a lot and gained many freedoms over 15
years, but it is still an Islamic emirate, it is still in the Arabian
Gulf and it is mostly sandy desert, so anyone who expects
western standards of free expression should look elsewhere.

Among these I count "John Doe", author of "Oil Rich Despotism -
Gimme a break" who sent the following:
In Dubai -
You go to Jail for living with someone not your spouse
You go to Jail for holding hands in public
You go to Jail for honking at other drivers
You go to jail for offending the UNDERCOVER SECRET POLICE
The country is ruled by a KING!!
Wow! What a way to live !!!

I have shared houses with other people in Dubai, I have known
couples who were not married living together, none of this was a
problem.
It is very common for Arab males to hold hands in public. This is
not considered sexual or unusual.
Arab drivers always use their car horns as much if not more than
their brake pedal.
Offending the "undercover secret police", if they exist, is
obviously not recommended.

However, the United Arab Emirates is not ruled by a King. The
ruler of Dubai is an Emir, Sheikh Maktum bin Rashid al-Maktum.
He is also the Vice-President of UAE, which is ruled by the Emir
of Abu Dhabi, UAE President Sheikh KHALIFA bin Zayid al -
Nuhayyan.

Most important, however, is the fact that the UAE, and Dubai in
particular, is actually a really fantastic place to live. If your idea
of Paradise involves heavy rainfall and a five-minute stroll to
work, please look elsewhere. If you would appreciate wind-
surfing and wake-boarding during your lunch break, where else
would you choose to live?

Well of course Singapore, maybe.

Dubai Internet Filter

We have offices in Dubai but you can never get ping times under 280 so your if you plan to run your operations there, be sure to factor in your Internet capabilities are terrible.. You can get E1 and above Internet, but when teh Government proxy/slash/chokepoint fills out, you can forget about performance. we also experience brownouts as well. All of the Internet is filtered like China as well. Dont go and try to pull up Britney spears too much :)

[bmukund]

Very appropriate and impressive...

I think the photographs here are good marketing as well as a reminder about the single biggest drawback of India - smooth cities.

India has its pluses - great software manpower, the english language, good support industry - vendors/training and huge headstart. But city and town planning and development are still non-existent. The software industry has grown despite the cities not because of it.

It will be interesting to see if Dubai can cater sufficiently to the white collar software population in India to attract them.

[Sting340]

Dubai -Pros and Cons

As a Dubai watcher, one cannot but marvel at its business friendly environment, relative openess , tolerance and world class infrastructure.
However, on the flip side , Dubai faces signficant challenges in the form of reforming its inflexible /archaic labour laws which prevent mobility amongst professionals,damning lack of human rights when it comes to its blue collar workers, reining in rocketing living and business cost driven by artificially hiked housing rentals - a real estate ownership market driven by suspect inflows( over 50% of the current investors in Dubai real estate hail from CIS,Russian, Iranian and Indian subcontinent countries- who seem to be parking their slush monies in this "no-questions-asked" market).
A thriving human trafficking market ( conservative estimate places about 5,000 women from CIS/Russia, China trading their wares) leading to Dubai being nicknamed the "Bangkok of West Asia".

Most important of all, how Dubai forges a competitive workforce from amongst its national population and handles/facilitates/manages the slow but sure march towards democracy and free elections of its citizens.
Sorry if i sound negative - but seasoned watchers will agree with each of my views above.
Can Dubai do it? Time will tell.

[nkadavil]

Jobs in Dubai

Chris, can you tell me more; I want to Incorporate in free zone, and do computing consulting business(DataWarehousing, Business Intelligence, etc ...).
Do you have advices ?
[e-mail]